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Filter Classification
Testing procedures for both American (ASHRAE 52.2) and European (EN 779) standards covers the ability of an air cleaner to remove particles of a given size from an air stream, and the pressure drop of a clean filter for different air flow rates. Coarse & Fine Dust Filter Performance Test ASHRAE Standard 52.1 This standard measures average performance of a filter based on arrestance and dust spot efficiency test procedures of a filter at a pre-determined final pressure drop. This testing procedure does not measure the capability of the filters in removing specific particle sizes. ASHRAE Standard 52.2 This standard measures Particle Size Efficiency, or PSE. The test method makes up for 52.1 as it provides information for filter efficiency for different particle sizes. According to ASHRAE standards, filtration effectiveness is characterized by the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, or MERV. This is based on the worst case performance of a filter through all stages of dust loading and all particles 0.3 10m. MERV allows a user to specify performance standards of a filter over the entire period lifespan at maximum particle count. EN779 This measures the ability of the filter in removing (homogeneous) particles that are of 0.4m. Testing is equivalent to ASHRAE 52.2. Coarse and Fine Dust Efficiency and Classification EN779 Class G1 Coarse G2 G3 Low G4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 H10 Separation Performance *A: 50% - 60% A: 65% - 80% A: 80% - 90% A: > 90% *E: 40% - 60% E: 60% - 80% E: 80% - 90% E: 90% - 95% E: >95% MPPS: > 95 ASHRAE 52.2 MERV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Particle Size Range Efficiency 0.3 1 m 1 3 m % % n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a <50 n/a 50 65 n/a 65 80 n/a >80 <75 >90 75 85 >90 85 95 >90 > 95 > 95 3 10 m % >20 >20 >20 >20 20 35 35 50 50 70 >70 >85 >85 >85 >90 >90 >90 >90 > 95

Category

Medium Efficiency

High Efficiency

*A: Arrestance Value *E: Fractional Efficiency A note on ASHRAE testing for Electronic Air Cleaners (EAC) EACs cannot be tested by loading dust since EACs perform oppositely as compared to fiber filters. Its efficiency declines gradually as more dust is trapped on the EAC. By contrast, fiber filters improve gradually throughout its service life. Furthermore, the synthetic dust used for loading in ASHRAE and EN tests are not practical for EAC testing as the dust contain very conductive carbon than may cause electric shorting, thus reducing or eliminating the effectiveness of the device and negatively affecting their MERV. Therefore testing according ASHRAE 52.1 and 52.2 standards has little or no practical use. The efficiency data published on manufacturers catalogues are based on clean collector plates and at specific airflow rate. HEPA & ULPA Filter Classification European EN 1882 and USA IEST-RP-CC 001.3 Artificial test aerosols are used for both tests but different sized particles are used. The American standards measure efficiency according to 0.3m and 0.12m. The European Standards measure efficiency according to Most Penetrable Particle Size, or MPPS, which is >0.1 - <0.3m.

European EN 1822 Standard

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Filter Type &Classification Integral *MPPS Efficiency - % Local *MPPS Efficiency - % H10 85 H11 95 NA HEPA H12 99.5 H13 99.95 99.75 H14 99.995 99.975 U15 99.9995 99.9975 ULPA U16 99.99995 99.99975 U17 99.999995 99.9999 USA IEST-RP-CC 001.3 Efficiency - % 0.3 micron 95 99.97 99.99 99.999 NA NA

Filter Type & Classification HEPA ULPA

A B C D E F

0.12 micron NA NA NA NA 99.9995 99.99995

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10/28/2009